20th November 2020 Mailer

Spend just £10 and you will be awarded 24hrs unrestricted VIP access to the latest 20 Freebies offered by our fantastic Designers! Don't delay order today. Please note, the vault is subject to change as and when new submissions are added.

We Will Remember!! by Carol Clarke

These are just some of the tributes to be seen locally to those who lost their lives to protect us in the wars. Along with just about everyone in this country our family lost friends and family too. My Great Grandad Lance Corporal RT Tommy Batho died at the Battle of Passchendaele on the 12th October 2017. We also have cause to rejoice too though as my Dad together with 4 of his brothers fought in World War 2 ... and they all survived and came home!

cup742534_359 by Carol Clarke

cup741621_359 by Carol Clarke

Celebrations by Vicki Avcin

What a special night it was on Wednesday 18th November when our granddaughter Zoe went to her high school formal. It was the culmination of 12years of school and a night to celebrate. What made it even more special was the fact that Zoe is the first of any of the family on my husbands side to graduate Yr 12. To say the whole family is proud of her is an understatement. In the photos she is with her Dad who was just bursting with pride. Poppy (her dads dad) said it was the best news we had all year. Zoe will turn 18 on the 3rd December and we will be going down to her party and be able to celebrate with all the family then. I think she looks stunning and it really feels strange in a nice kind of way to see the little girl who we watched grow up all dressed up as a young lady now. Not sure what career path she wants to take but to achieve this Im sure she will achieve anything she wants to.

This weeks items are 2 lovely Christmas designs. Both quick and easy to make but will look stunning when made.

cup898912_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup906586_543 by Vicki Avcin

Lots of crafting. Cards cards cards. : )

by Helen Gomm

In these difficult times its definitely good to have a hobby. When I was little my Mum always did some craft with us . I have tried most things, at the moment I am making lots of greeting cards from your site as normal, always have to research the new ones. love them so much. but I am also trying things Diamond painting, which takes many weeks and hundreds of tiny gems. i will try some on the cards . , Here are a few I have done, the poppy picture I have given to our local British Legion to raffle, hoping it helps in some way, i love to try to add to the cards little extra bits that match often , might be the gems , glitter or ribbon Stay well and positive. Helen.

I have picked out two cards one you could give to anyone at this time, and the other one that will hopefully cheer someone up at Christmas and make them smile.

cup1074439_76873 by David Cooke

cup1060126_66 by Sheila Rodgers

Special delivery by Tina Fitch

I was very privileged to receive this in the post this weekMike my friend from HomesteadAFB in Florida flew the US flag for me in his F16 fighting Falcon jet. He flew it on his first live ammunition sortie so I was very privileged indeed!It came framed along with a photo of him in n the jet with my flag and a certificate of authenticity with his flight plan and route. Just over the moon to have been so specially chosen.Made my day Thats all from me this week short but sweet. New designs in my store.

cup1082242_596 by Tina Fitch

cup1082920_596 by Tina Fitch

Red Hills Desert Garden, St George, Utah

by Sandie Burchell

On our recent trip to Utah we visited the Red Hills Desert Garden in St George. It is Utahs first desert conservation garden with lots of different cacti, which you always expect to see in a desert garden. The nearly 5-acre garden features 5,000 water-efficient plants, a 1,150-foot stream stocked with native and endangered fish species, a replica slot canyon and prehistoric dinosaur tracks found onsite dating back 200 million years. The garden hosts several events throughout the year and when we visited the Scarecrow Walk & Haunted Canyon display was on. There were dozens of scarecrow displays from local organisations and a haunted canyon decorated with skeletons and spiders (not real ones, thankfully).My photo shows one of my favourite displays of 2 cats called Paws for Love!

This week I have several new Suspended 3d Card Mini Kits for Christmas, so far I have Baubles, Windows, Cupcakes, and Sweaters, and here are 2 of them. They are quick and easy to make and currently on Special Offer! Thank you for looking! x

cup1082763_425 by Sandie Burchell

cup1082080_425 by Sandie Burchell

Welcome Aeryn Catherine

by Lauren C. Waterworth

My husband and I are ecstatic to announce the birth of our daughter Aeryn Catherine at our home in the U.K. on Friday November 13th 2020 at approximately 10.15pm weighing 8lbs 3.The birth was a near perfect experience with minimal damage and I am so grateful to the amazing midwife home birth team who kept me grounded throughout labour and made the entire event possible.Aeryn is a new baby sister to our son William and has made our family complete.

cup976529_88163 by Lauren C. Waterworth

cup853425_88163 by Lauren C. Waterworth

Hurricane Eta... by Janice Shehan

Well this hurricane came right past us and back into the Atlantic ocean. We had a little rain and some wind, but nothing that it could have been, thank God. Well its getting to that time of year, Christmas! Im gearing up my designing for a huge celebration, we need it this year, right? Heres hoping 2021 is A LOT better than 2020.

cup1071677_2049 by Janice Shehan

cup1071678_2049 by Janice Shehan

Tribute to Street Cat Bob

by Janice McFarlane

Im an avid cat lover; a crazy cat lady and not ashamed to say so. Ive shared many antics in community news of my own cat Bailey. Now I am writing about another cat, whose story touched my heart as well as millions of people around the world. His name? Bob.His story is heart warming, it is a story of love, trust, friendship, and a special bond between a human and an animal. In brief Bob was a stray living on the streets, he found his way into the passage way of sheltered accommodation, cold, hungry, dirty and injured. There he was discovered by James, a heroin addict, failed musician, and at some point had also slept on the streets. James busked on the streets of London and sold the Big Issue to earn some money. James found Bob and took him in to care for him. One day James set off to do his busking, and got on a bus, Bob followed him and jumped on the bus with him. From then on Bob and James were seen together, James busking and then going on to sell the Big Issue. Bob became a celebrity as people were amazed to see a cat sitting quietly while James did his thing. Bob was known for sitting on James shoulders and giving out high fives. Through Bob, James turned his life around, he had a responsibility to care for this cat, who became his soul-mate and an incredible bond developed. HIs story got around and James was approached to write a book about his story. This book, a Street Cat named Bob, was a best seller around the world. James went on to write other books also about the antics of Bob and himself. The original story was turned into a motion picture and a new one has just been released, A Christmas gift from Bob, starring Bob. Sadly in June this year, Bob was killed by a hit and run driver. He was about 14 years old. This had a devastating effect on James but also fans around the world. Bob left a wonderful legacy, he gave James his life back and James now works tirelessly for various animal and homeless charities. A memorial statue to Bob has now been commissioned, and I wanted to do my own tribute to Bob. So I embarked on a needle felted sculpture of Bob holding up his paw to high five, and put it in a box frame and inserted lights. The quote I included from his recent movie Angels are all around us if we just know where to look. Bob was certainly that angel in James life, but touched the hearts of millions more, including me.

cup1082697_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup1082855_905 by Janice McFarlane

New comers by Carol Dunne

As we are in lockdown at the moment it is nice to be able to go for a short walk to our local lake as our daily exercise. Yesterday we found some newcomers, some pink footed geese had flown in for the winter. They nest in Greenland and Iceland but fly to the UK and some parts of Europe to over winter before flying back in the spring time to breed. I have seen them flying overhead, as a lot of them go to Norfolk so it was nice to see some of them stopping off here. Nice also to know that their numbers are increasing due to better protection, especially as some of our native bird numbers are declining.

cup1082847_173 by Carol Dunne

cup1082847_173 by Carol Dunne

Happy 40th Birthday Kelly! by Sue Way

On Tuesday it was my daughter and CUP designer Kelly Barkers 40th birthday. It was so hard not being able to celebrate properly, but we still wanted to make it special. So we bought lots of her favourite things, packed them into a pretty box and gift bag and left on her doorstep. She got such a lovely surprise when she opened the door, we waved from the car and sang Happy Birthday to You! I so wanted to hug her, but seeing her big smile was lovely.

cup233309_38 by Sue Way

cup741552_38 by Sue Way